# Bearded Giant Claude Code Config Mdlive

> mdlive

- Skill: `tomevault-io/bearded-giant-claude-code-config-mdlive` (Agent Skill, multi-file: 2 files)
- Install (CLI): `npx skillmds@latest add tomevault-io/bearded-giant-claude-code-config-mdlive`
- Raw SKILL.md: https://api.skillmd.com/api/skills/tomevault-io/bearded-giant-claude-code-config-mdlive/raw
- Safety review: pending (external: skill-scanner PASS, skillspector PASS)
- Works with: Claude Code, Claude.ai, OpenAI Codex
- Category: Coding & Dev Tools
- Author: tomevault-io (https://skillmd.com/u/tomevault-io)
- Updated: 2026-09-17
- Page: https://skillmd.com/skills/tomevault-io/bearded-giant-claude-code-config-mdlive

---


# mdlive

Serve markdown files as live-reloading HTML previews in the browser
using `mdlive`.

## When to use

Use mdlive whenever you produce markdown that benefits from rendered
presentation:

- Plans and proposals
- Architecture or design documents
- Reports, comparisons, or summaries with tables
- Anything containing Mermaid diagrams
- Multi-file documentation sets
- Any time the user asks to "preview" or "render" markdown

Use mdlive when markdown is more than about 40 to 60 lines, has
complex formatting, or is likely to go through multiple edit/review
iterations with the user.

Do **not** use mdlive for short conversational answers, single code
snippets, trivial one-paragraph responses, or any markdown that fits
comfortably within a terminal window.

## Workflow

1. Write the markdown file (e.g. `plan.md`).
2. Start mdlive using the Bash tool with `run_in_background: true`:
   ```
   command: mdlive plan.md
   run_in_background: true
   ```
   The browser opens automatically. mdlive auto-cycles to the next
   available port if 3000 is in use — no port checking needed.
3. Continue editing the file — changes reload automatically.
4. When the task is finished and the preview is no longer needed, stop
   the background task using `TaskStop` with the task ID.

## Directory mode

When producing multiple related markdown files, serve the parent
directory instead:

```
command: mdlive docs/
run_in_background: true
```

This gives the user a collapsible tree sidebar to navigate between files,
including any nested subdirectories.

## Mermaid diagrams

Use Mermaid diagrams when they improve clarity over plain text:

- **Flowcharts** — processes and decision trees
- **Sequence diagrams** — API and service interactions
- **Entity-relationship diagrams** — data models
- **State diagrams** — state machines

Prefer Mermaid over ASCII art when the diagram has more than a few
elements or shows relationships and flow.

## Installation

mdlive must be installed on the user's system. If the `mdlive`
command is not found, ask the user how they would like to install it
using `AskUserQuestion` with these options:

1. **Cargo** — `cargo install mdlive`
2. **Build from source** — `git clone https://github.com/bearded-giant/mdlive && cd mdlive && cargo build --release`

Then run the corresponding install command for them.

---
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<!-- tomevault:4.0:skill_md:2026-04-15 -->